pipemakersforum.com

... My only point is that smell is not an indicator either of quality or the lack of quality. Ebonite rod stock has a foul smell when you work with it, period. It's SUPPOSED TO SMELL LIKE THAT... Todd Okay Todd, read the email reply I got from SEM-Hitzaker. They know a lot about ebonite, you must a...

Okay, I have a SEM order pending, and when I get it I will either verify, or refute what all of you have been saying, and maybe, clear this up. I have no ego attachment or investment to defend, and I don't care who is right, you or me, just so it is right. ...As for the insults and the bullying, don...

Ebonite, Vulcanized Rubber, Vulcanite, hard rubber, the classic material. I have pipes that are 40 or 50 years old with ebonite tips. I think nothing else will do.

You may be sure that your "posts are accurate," but they're not. In fact, they're basically a whole bunch of nonsense. Vulcanite from every single source in the world smells bad--including from SEM--and just because you've convinced yourself otherwise doesn't make it so. There are, of cou...

Just kiddin, Kurt, No Offense

Oh, and piss-off, Kurt.

If Rad is correct about the Apples and Oranges, then I am wrong, but, don't think that just because I am new to classic pipemaking, that I am an ignorant dumb-ass you can bully around. I will verify this for myself, and I will post the results of my future tests here for your information, so there w...

I know it is posible to make Ebonite that does not smell awful for weeks after it is cut, ref. my post about the Guidici stems. Bottom line, if I were a Pipe Dealer or a Collector, what I would call premium, state-of-the-art, I am sure would not make me sick at my stomach to smell. Think about that....

PME said the rod I purchased from them was not SEM. They would not tell me who manufactured it, but said it was from Hamburg. Otherwise, I can't say for sure if SEM is better until I get some SEM rods, but I feel reasonably sure that my posts are accurate. I never said ebonite should smell like rose...

Okay, Todd, and others. I am not trying to fight with you. I am just trying to arrive at a correct answer. So, Read This. My Email to SEM-Hitzacker and Their Reply Email. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To: info@sem-hitzacker.de Friday Aug 14, 2009 9:30 pm Subject:...

__ I returned the German Ebonite Rod to pipemakers.org and they gave me a refund, even though I had cut about one inch off. __ I have some more info, a test, and you can try this yourself. __ I drilled a 1/8" dia. hole about 1/4" or so deep in the ebonite rod, and it emitted a strong sewer...

I haven't tried this, but I have thought about, turning or grinding a solid bar or piece of wood to fit into, and fill the mortise, before stamping it, to reinforce the hollow mortise. Just a thought.

. . . Okay, a little more on the subject of materials. I am somewhat inexperienced and ignorant about pipemaking materials, but I have some good background knowledge. My dad taught Wood Shop in High School, and I was running shop tools when I was in Grammar School. I also studied Aerospace Engineeri...

Thanks, Kbadkar, for the information. I think I got off to a bad start with PME. I ordered $300 worth of materials, including their "Stain Kit." When the order arrived, first of all, the stain kit turned out to be Fiebing Leather Dye, which is not mentioned or pictured on their web site. T...

Thanks, Kurt, for the reply, and the detailed Ebonite working and finishing information. In this case, however, I'm thinking the material is bad. I noticed a very strong stewey smell and the dark brown color when I cut off the piece of rod using a coping saw (it was about 3 a.m. and I didn't want to...

. . . More info about the PME 22 mm Ebonite Rod. . . . I have an improvised method of testing materials for Shore D hardness, which consists of a nail punch with a 30 deg andle tip and a point of .1 mm. I carefully set a 10 lb sledge hammer head on top of it, and then measure the diameter of the hol...

I usually stall before I spend money on tools, money being a bit tight, and see if I can come up with a way to do it using things I already have.

. . . I have been making stems using Guidici molded stems. I use a screwdriver bit ground to fit tightly and centered in the lip end, mounted in a 3-jaw chuck on my mini-metal lathe, and the live center in the hole in the tenon of the stem. I then can turn the tenon and the round area of the kind-of...

I had a brainstorm, today, and I made a very simple, cheap stem heater to use for stem bending... a metal cone, with a small hole in the top which I place over the burner of my gas stove. Understand, my lifestyle permits this. I have a band saw in my dining room and a mini metal lathe in my entry fo...